The majority of smartphone applications never get used again after being downloaded from app stores. This is a significant challenge for companies releasing new apps, as there is a very low success rate in comparison to the number of businesses that fail. For every successful app like Uber or Instagram, there are hundreds of thousands that don’t make it.
How therefore can you prevent your app from joining the ranks of those that are ultimately unsuccessful? Here are 10 questions to get you started.
Is There a Problem that Your App Helps People With?
It is crucial to know exactly what you want your app to do. If you are lucky, your inspiration for the concept comes from realising a shortcoming. Promoting the fact that your solution resolves a widespread problem is a certain way to increase sales. The difficulty, of course, is that they are having problems meeting other single people in their region, and the applications ease the process. One example is dating apps, which help users identify possible mates.
How Original Is Your App?
Your app might be addressing an issue, but it still might not be essential if it’s not distinctive. It will need to differentiate itself from competing applications in order to succeed. Since your product’s characteristics are identical to those of the competition, it’s hard to see why customers would choose it.
Think about the competition and how your app can stand out from the crowd. What core features does it provide that make it unique? How can you make sure your app stands out from the rest?
Do You Have an Idea of Who You’re Trying to Reach?
As the success of your app depends on users installing and engaging with it, it is important to identify your target consumers early on, and learn about their preferences, interests and requirements. By creating a product that appeals to them, you will make it stand out from the competition.
The process of investigating the market and creating user personas to think about the many ways people could use your app and the features they would expect to see there is important in the development of your app.
Have You Taken a Look at Your Finances Yet?
The cost of developing an app can be significant. Make sure you have a clear estimate of costs before you begin. The extent to which your product may evolve depends on this. If you’re not developing the app in-house but rather hiring a team to do it for you, you’ll still need to set a budget so you know what you can and can’t accomplish.
If you hire a contractor, this is a crucial step. If you want them to consider the product at all, they’ll need to know how much you can spend on it.
Is It Simple To Navigate Your App?
It’s possible to create a product design that is too complicated and does not have the “wow” factor that customers want. However, you should prioritize easing the burden of your product’s usage for your customers. If you prioritise flashy, sophisticated features above a simple user experience, you’ll end up with a product that no one wants to download or use.
Is There Good UX Design In Your App?
An effective design is inseparable from an intuitive interface. User experience designers are needed in this case to take care of how the user feels when using the software. This not only requires aesthetic design, but also little touches like clicking buttons and watching animations.
The visual style of your app is also important for its success. Customers not only value an app that is easy to use, but also one that provides a captivating, entertaining and interactive experience.
Have You Tested Your App? 7
It is vital to thoroughly test your product before releasing it to the public. Quality assurance specialists will not only look for problems, but also evaluate the product’s usability, performance, and other key aspects. This procedure is critical to releasing a bug-free, high-quality product.
Have you distinguished between necessary and desirable components?
As a business, it is important to remember to separate the essential functionality of an app from the extras that are nice to have. This way, you can avoid exhausting your resources and frustrating your audience by trying to cram too much content into the app.
It is important to first identify which product features are essential and which may be dropped, in order to prevent this pitfall. This need not continue indefinitely, but only when the viability of the first product has been established. You may expand the functionality in subsequent updates.
Have You Made Any Attempts at Advertising?
A great product is only half the battle though. If no one knows about your app, it doesn’t matter how good it is. Marketing requires an investment either way, whether it’s done in-house or outsourced.
If you want to create a buzz around your app before it launches, you’ll need to invest in marketing. Experts in this field will use channels such as social media and online advertising to generate excitement and interest among potential customers. Make sure you factor marketing costs into your budget so you can afford to run promotional campaigns on platforms such as Google and Instagram.
Does Your Company Provide Assistance?
No matter how thorough your quality assurance procedures are, your consumers may still encounter issues. In this case, it is generally best to provide first-rate assistance to customers.
It is important to provide multiple channels of customer service within the app, such as a knowledge base, chatbot and live chat feature. If customer service is difficult to contact or nonexistent, this can lead to problems and unsatisfied customers, which could in turn damage the reputation of the company’s product or brand.
Creating a mobile app can be a difficult and time-consuming process, which can often be frustrating. However, there are ways to lessen the chances of failure and give your app a better chance of success. There is no guarantee that your app will be successful, even if you ask these questions, but they may help you develop a sounder approach and avoid common pitfalls.
